Manual shirt folding device



C. A. CALDER MANUAL SHIRT FOLDING DEVICE Oct. 6, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 24, 1951 ATTORNEY @ch 6, 1953 c. A. CALDER MANUAL SHIRT FOLDING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 24

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Oct. 6, 1953 c. A. CALDER MANUAL SHIRT FOLDING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 24, 1951 JNVENTOR. CAESAR A. CALDER ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to manual shirt folding devices.

An object of this invention is to provide in a device of the character described, highly improved means to center and hold down an unfolded shirt to be folded, at the neck and at the shoulders to prevent the shirt from slipping out of place during the entire shirt folding operation, whereby to facilitate the handling of the shirt during such operation and to insure a neat fold.

Another object of this invention is to provide a highly improved device of the character described comprising a central panel and a pair of wings hinged to opposite sides of the central panel by means of spring hinges with the wings normally lying somewhat above the plane of the central panel, to provide a platform on which an unfolded shirt can be placed flat, with the neck of the shirt at the upper or rear end of the central panel, and the tail of the shirt extending beyond the lower or front ends of the panel and wings, said panel being hinged about its upper end so that after the shirt is laid on the panel and wings, said panel together with its wings may be swung up about said rear panel hinge so that the tail of the shirt will fold down and hang over the undersides of said panel and wings.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described having means to support the panel and wings in upwardly and rearwardly inclined position after swinging said panel and wings upwardly, the construction being such that said panel and wings remain in said inclined position during subsequent shirt folding operations, to relieve fatigue of the operator.

After swinging the central panel and its wings upwardly to rearwardly inclined position, the sleeves can be folded inwardly one over the other and over the tail of the shirt. When the wings can be folded first one over the central panel and then the other over the folded wing, thereby taking out looseness, the spring at the spring hinges for the wings being such that the wings or side flaps remain in folded position, after folding the springs not having enough tension to open the wings.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide in a device of the character described, improved means to limit rotation of the central panel, and also means to limit opening or unfolding movement of the wings (when the folded shirt is removed) to a position where the wings are substantially in the plane of the center panel.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which comprises a complete unit that may be mounted on any suitable table or support, and it does not depend on foot levers or any specially designed supporting frames, the device furthermore being such that shirtfolds of different lengths can be made thereon extremely rapidly and without necessity for any special skills.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide in a device of the character described, means to support a supply of bands for banding the folded shirt, said support being adjustable to retain the bands in such position that the ends of the band may be easily brought around a shirt, folded on the panel and wings and adhered to each other.

Still another object of this invention is to pro' vide a device of the character described comprising a support provided with rails, and a carriage slidable back and forth thereon and to which the central panel is hinged, the neck clamp for the shirt being hinged to the carriage and means being provided to open the clamp when the folded and banded shirt on the panel and wings, is moved from a, rearwardly inclined to a vertical position to facilitate pulling the folded shirt off said panel and wings.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a strong, durable and compact device of the character described which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, and which shall yet be practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a device embodying the invention and showing a shirt to be folded thereon, in dot-dash lines;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of said device but showing the center panel and wings in raised position;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4- i of Fig. 1;

Fig. is a side elevational view of the device with the carriage pulled forwardly and the panel, with the wings folded thereover, swung to rearwardly and upwardly inclined position;

Fig. 6 is a partial bottom plan view of said device;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line l-'I of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. l;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line l0-l0 of Fi 9;

Fig. 11 is a front view of the device with the central panel and outwardly extending wings in rearwardly and upwardly inclined position and showing a shirt thereon with tailof the shirt folded down over the centra1 panel and wings, and h sh r han ing own;

with the sleeves of :Fig. 12 is a view similar to :Fig. 11, but Showing the sleeves folded across the tail, one over the other;

Fig. 1-3 is a view si ilar to Fig. 12 but with-the Wings folded in one over the other and with a paper band thereon;

:Fig. :14 is va view similar to Fig. 13 but showing the folded shirt being pulled off in a vertical position;

Fig. 15 :is a view similar to Fig. 14:, but showing the wings swung out after the shirt is removed, from which position the central panel and its wings swing forwardly and down, so that the carriage can he slidably moved rearwardly back to the position of Fig. 1;

Fig. 16 is a top view of a shirt folded and banded on the .device embodying the invention;

Fig. 17 is across sectional view taken on line ll..l-'| of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 18 is a cross sectional view taken on :line l8-..-.l8 of Fig. 13.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, in designates a manually operated shirt folding device -,or machine embodying the invention, for folding a shirt I l and handing :it with a :band 42.

Said device I0 comprises a support 15 which may be mounted on any suitable frame or table, at table height, to facilitate operation of device H), as will become apparent when the operation of the device is described.

The support It comprises a horizontal rec: tangular base it having a front edge 16a, side edges I61) and a rear edge 15c. Said base 16 is formed with a pair of parallel slots 41, equidistant from the side edges Nib, terminating short of the front edge Mia and extending to the rear edge I50 of said base. Fixed to the under.- side of said base iii are a pair of parallel, transe verse front and rear angle brackets l8 and 19 having downwardly extending flanges I80 and Na, respectively formed with pairs of aligned openings receiving the ends of a pair of parallel rails 20, preferably formed of round stock and disposed below said base. Cotter pins 2| at the ends of the rails keep them from sliding off the brackets. Side brackets 22, also of angle iron, are attached to the underside of base l6, and have downwardly extending flanges 22a contacting the outer side of the mid-portions of the rails 20 to keep them from flexing outwardly.

Slidably mounted on the rails 20 is a carriage 25. The same comprises a pair of parallel co: extensive bars 26 interconnected by a cross-bracing plate 21 attached thereto by screws 28.

back or underside of the? Screwed to the ends of the bars 25 are vertical screws 29 serving to attach hubs 30 to the undersides of said bars. Mounted for rotation on said hubs 30 by means of ball bearings 32 are wheels 33 having transversely curved annular outer grooves 34 engaging the parallel rails 20.

Bars 26 have upwardly and rearwardly inclined arms 35 projecting upwardly through the ots l. e ius a oun ed 9: arm 11 is a bracket 35 .to hold a supply -.of bands I2 for banding shirts ll folded on the device In. Said bracket 36 may be made of sheet metal or other suitable material and comprises a wall 31 resti g on arms lzj and formed with parallel slots 33 through which extend screws 39 passing through openings in arms 35 and having heads at their ;upper -.ends contacting said wall and shanks projecting below said arms receiving wing nuts 40 to tighten the bracket 36 in adjusted position. By loosening the wing nuts 40, the bracket 735 may be adjusted up or .down to .desired position.

Extending from wall :31 are forwardly and outwardly extending walls 4.1. Extending from the lower ends of walls 31, M .is a .wall i2 in a plane at right angles to walls 5:1, 41. A supplyof bands H is mounted on bracket :36 withthe lower edges of the bands contacting wall .112 and with the bands resting back against walls 37, M.

The carriage 25 further comprises a of angle brackets 45 having inwardly extending arms .45 at :their lower ends, contacting the top of .cross .brace 21? and attached thereto by screws M. Extending upwardly from arms 4.6, are vertical arms .45 projecting through slots :il. Arms 5-8 have openings .6 9 :through which pass the ends of a rotary horizontal transverse shaft 50. The outer ends 51 of shaft 50 project beyond the arms .48.

Means are provided to limit rotation .of shaft 50. To this end, the upper end of .one arm A8 is provided with a curved upper edge 52 having end shoulders :53 received on shaft 515, just under said arm 48, and fixed thereto by a set screw 54 in a collar 55 to which is fixed a horizontal pin 56 contacting edge 52. As the shaft 50 rotates, pin 55 rotates therewith, and engagement of said pin with shoulders '53 will stop rotation of said shaft in either direction.

On shaft 50, are washers 51 disposed at the outer sides of arms 138. "Fixed to the outer ends 5| of shaft 50 are similar, symmetrically disposed brackets 53. Each bracket 58 comprises a wall '59 perpendicular to the axis of shaft 50 and formed with a through opening 50 receiving the end 5| of shaft 50. Brackets 58 are fixed to the ends 5| of shaft 50 by set screws 61 passing hrou h sui abl th d pen ngs in wel s 59.-

Extending from the ends of each wall 59 are parallel walls .62 formed w h op ni gs .6 th u h h c p s the nds o a rotar P .64. The outer ends .of each pin 5.4 extend beyond walls .62. Mounted on each pin 54 for rotation about its axis, is a rotary bracket 66 having a top wall 51 and parallel side wall 68 extending therefrom and formed with openings 69 receiving the outer ends of said pin. The ends of pin 64 may be fixed to walls 58 by set screws or in any other suitable manner.

Fixed on pin 64 and disposed between walls 62, is a .collar 10. Surrounding each pin 64 is a torsion spring H attached at one end 72 to said collar 10 and at its other end it to one of the walls 62. Attached to the top wall 61 of one bracket 66 is a spacer plate I4.

Fixed to brackets 66 are similar, symmetrically disposed wings or flaps 15. Each wing I5 may be made of fiat metal or other suitable material. It has an inwardly projecting portion 16 fixed to the walls 61 by screws 11. Each wing I5 has a. forwardly projecting portion I8 formed with parallel inner and outer edges I9, 80, a forward end edge BI, and a rear, forwardly and outwardly inclined edge 82. It will now be understood that the left Wing is in a higher plane than the right wing 15, as seen in Fig. 4, due to spacer I4. The forward edges 8| of said wings are each formed with a notch 83 for the purpose hereinafter appearing. I The wings 75 are swingable about the axes of pins 64 downwardly looking at Fig. 4. They are swung upwardly by the torsion springs II. Means are provided to limit upward swinging movement of wings I5 to horizontal'position. To this end, there is fixed to arms 48 of brackets 45. angle shaped brackets 90, preferably of square stock having outwardly extending arms 9| formed with fiat, parallel end faces 92, contacting the inner surfaces 93 of brackets 66 when the flaps or wings 15 are in horizontal positions.

Fixed to the center portion of shaft 50, in any suitable manner, is a thick plate 901) having a half groove am at its underside to partially receive the shaft attached to the underside of the front end of plate 90a in a center panel 92d projecting forwardly therefrom and disposed below the planes of the wings I5.

Said center panel has side edges 93a parallel to and spaced inwardly of edges I9 of the side wings. It has a front end edge 94 in alignment with the edges M of the side wings. Said front end edge 94 is formed with a central notch 95. A shirt I I to be folded may be placed on the center panel and outfolded side wings, as shown in Fig. 1, with the collar of the shirt on the center panel near its rear end, and with the shoulders of the shirt on the side wings, with the sleeves hanging down, and with the lower or tail end of the shirt hanging down from the front edges III, 94 of the wings and center panel. The center panel and wings thus provide a platform or table for the shirt. Before placing the shirt on such platform, a shirtboard 92a (dot-dash lines in Fig. 1) is placed on the center panel. A clip 92b is fixed by screws 920 to the panel. The front edge of the clip is upturned somewhat so that the rear edge of the shirtboard can be easily slipped between the clip and said panel. The shirtboard substantially overlies the center panel as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the middle of the upper end of the shirt overlies the shirtboard.

Fixed to the plate 90a is an upstanding bracket 9'! having apertured side walls 98 supporting aligned pivot pins 99. Hinged on said pins 99 is a swinging bracket IIJIl having a back wall IllI and side walls I 02. Side walls I02 support a cross pin I03 connected by tension spring I04 to a cross pin I05 supported on side walls 98 and disposed below the pins 99. When bracket I00 is swung up to position of Fig. 3, the line of spring m4 is on the rear side of pins 99, to maintain said bracket in raised position. When said bracket is swung down, to the dot-dash position of Fig. 3, the line of spring I04 moves to the front side of pins 99 to maintain said bracket in its downward position.

Means are provided in the bracket I00 to clamp the shirt placed on the platform adjacent its collar a. to the center panel. To this end, there is fixed to the upper end of bracket I00, as by screws I I0, a shirt clamp I II of U shape adapted to straddle the collar of the shirt. Said shirt clamp II I has a free arm II2, the outer end I I3 of which is adapted to contact the shirt adjacent the inside of the back of the shirt collar I I4 of shirt I I.

Attached to clamp III is a clamp II5 to hold down the portions of the shirt on opposite sides of the collar, when said clamp is swung from full line position of Fig. 3 to the dot-dash lines of said figure.

To this end, there is welded or otherwise secured to the portion I I6 of clamp III which is screwed to bracket I 00, a cross wire I I1 having a transverse horizontal portion I I8 from the outer ends of which extend forwardly arms I I9. Either arm I I 9 may be grasped by the operator to swing the clamp III down, arms II9 serve to hold the shirt down against the center panel on opposite sides of the shirt collar.

Means are provided to hold down the shoulder portions of shirt II to the wings 15. To this end there are fixed to the top surfaces of said wings, adjacent their outer edges 80, straps or clips I 20. The rear ends I20a of said straps contact the wings, and said ends are secured to said wings by screws or rivets I2I. Extending forwardly from the rear secured ends I20a are spring clip arms I23 adapted to press the shoulder portions of the shirt slipped thereunder, against the wing.

Means are provided to open the shirt clamp I I I upon swinging the shirt folded on the center panel and folded side wings, from the upwardly and rearwardly inclined position thereof (shown in Figs. 5, 11, 12, 13) to the vertical position of Fig. 14, in which position the folded shirt is pulled off. To this end, there is fixed to the top of table or plate I6 between slots IT, a hook I30 having a forwardly extending arm I 3| spaced above the upper face of said table and formed with a downwardly extendin bump I3Ia at its outer end. Fixed to the upper end of bracket I00 is a rearwardly extending arm I33 having an offset foot I34. When the carriage is swung up about the axis of shaft 50 to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, and slidably moved forwardly to the position of Fig. 5, foot I 34 engages beneath hook arm I3I. After the shirt is fully folded and banded, and is swung up to vertical position, the clamp III is opened up to release said clamp from the shirt so that it could be pulled off. The bump I3 Ia keeps the carriage from accidentally slippingbackwardly.

The sequential operation of the device will now be described. A shirtboard is first placed on the center panel with its upper end slipped under clip 92b. A shirt to be folded is placed over the shirtboard and wings. The shirt is preferably buttoned or partially buttoned at the front. The shoulder portions of the shirt are slipped beneath the clip arms I23. The clamp III is then swung down to clamp the shirt near its collar. At such time the shirt sleeves are hanging downwardly, and the front ends of the shirt are also hanging downwardly. At this time, the carriage is at the rear end of its rearward movement.

The carriage is then swung upwardly and rearwardly and slid forwardly to the position of Figs. 5 and 11, in which position the foot I34 engages beneath the hook I3I. During the swinging movement, the tail of the shirt folds over the aligned edges BI, 94 and rests on the undersides of the center panel and wings. At

shirt tail, one over the time, the shirt sleeves hang down as shown in Fig. 11.

The sleeves are then folded across the folded other as shown in Fig. 12. The sleeves may be folded straight across or slightly inclined upwardly; Thereafter the por tion of the shirt tail which projects below the 'folded sleeves, shown :in Fig. 1-2. 1 :Then the right wing is swung inwardly about its pin 64, tensioni-ng its torsion spring H. Qne side of the shirt is of course folded with the right wing. Then the left wing is folded over the folded right wing, thereby folding the left side of the shirt. The torsion springs are not sufficiently tensioned to .open' up the folded wings, :the weight of the wings (being made of *metal) being sufficient to retain them in folded position.

'Such posit-ion is illustrated in Fig. 13.

It will be noted that when the folded center panel and wings are inclined upwardly and rearwardly; they overlie the middle of the band holder or bracketBfi. The topmost band 1:2 on the bracket 36 is then folded about the folded shirt as shown in Fig. 13.

It will be noted that when the wings are folded, the notches E3 register with the notch 95. The operator then swings the folded shirt to vertical position, grasps the shirt at the registering notches, and pulls the shirt up, as shown in 1-4. The shirt comes up folded about the shirtboard and banded. As soon as the shirt is pulled off, the wings are released and swing outwardly (Fig. 15) under the influence of the tensioned torsion springs I. As the wings swing forwardly, their weight causesthe center panel to swing down and forwardly about axis of shaft 50, and the wings fly out to horizontal positions face upwardly. The stops .98 limit outward swinging movement of the wings. i

The carriage is then slidably moved back to the position of Fig. '1 and another shirt is then placed on the device for folding.

The entire device may be placed or mounted as a unit on any suitable support, frame or table, so as to be at table height, where it can be manipulated without foot levers or other con:- nections to any special frame. The operation of said machine being at table height relieves fatigue of the operator, thus making for speed without the necessity for exceptional skill.

The straps or clips 123 are so located as to help retain the folded wings in folded condition. Each strap fits into a space between a wing and the central panel. The spacer beneath the left wing provides a little extra space needed so that the left wing can be folded over-the right wing.-

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this inven ticn are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, except as set forth in the claims. 4

While the device has been described as a shirt folding device, it will be understood that other garments such as pajamas, underwear and the like may be folded thereon.

Thus, the term shirt as used in the specification and claims is intended to mean any garfolded up over said sleeves as e upon rotating said center mentor article which is foldable on said machine.

;I claim:

1. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and movable therewith, and having means to clamp a portion of shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel.

-2. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end tosaid carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swing, able one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and mov able therewith, and havin means to clamp a portion of shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel, and clip means on the wings to hold shoulder portions of the shirt against said wings.

3. A shirt rolding device, comprising a support,

a carriage slidably mountedther-eon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and movable therewith, and having means to clamp a portion or shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel, said clamp being provided with means to .press portions of .a shirt placed on the center panel and wings on opposite sides of the collar against said center panel. I "4. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidabl-y mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel :andbeing swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and movable therewith, and having means to clamp a portion of shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel, and means on said support to open said clamp panel relative to said support in one position of said carriage relative to said support. I

5. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hinged to the sides of said center panel and being swing-- able one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, and means to support said panel in upwardly and rearwardly inclined posi tion, said means being mounted on said carriage and movable therewith.

6. In a shirt folding machine, a flat support formed with slots running from front to rear, rails fixed to the underside of said support, .a carriagehaving wheels engaging said rails, arms fixed to the carriage and projecting up through said slots, a horizontal transverse shaft rotatab ly mounted on said arms, members fixed to said arms and carrying pins perpendicular to .9, said shaft, wings hinged to said pins, torsion springs on said pins to turn said wings about said pins, and a center panel fixed to said shaft.

7. In a shirt folding machine, a fiat support formed with slots running from front to rear, rails fixed to the underside of said support, a carriage having wheels engaging said rails, arms fixed to the carriage and projecting up through said slots, a horizontal transverse shaft rotatably mounted on said arms, members fixed to said arms and carrying pins perpendicular to said shaft, wings hinged to said pins, torsion springs on said pins to turn said wings about said pins, and a center panel fixed to said shaft, and means to limit rotation of said shaft.

8. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and movable therewith, and having means to clam a portion of shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel, and means to limit rotation of said wings relative to said center panel.

9. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said. carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged relative to said center panel adjacent its rear end and movable therewith, and having means to clamp a portion of shirt placed on said center panel and wings, adjacent the collar, to said center panel, and means to limit rotation of said wings relative to said center panel, and means to limit rotation of said center panel. A

10. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged to the center panel, a, hook fixed to said support, and means on said clamp to engage said hook when the carriage is slidably moved forwardly and said center panel and its wings are rotated to upwardly and rearwardly inclined position.

11. A shirt folding device, comprising a support, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, a center panel hinged about its rear end to said carriage, for upward swinging movement, wings hingedly connected to said center panel and being swingable one over the other and both over the back of said center panel, a clamp hinged to the center panel, a hook fixed to said support, and means on said clamp to engage said hook when the carriage is slidably moved forwardly and said center panel and its wings are rotated to upwardly and rearwardly inclined position, and means to retain said wings in planes parallel to the plane of the center panel.

CAESAR A. CALDER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

